Playhouse Presents and Live At The Electric: TV picks

TV preview: Emma Thompson stars as the Queen in Playhouse Presents, Russell Kane guides us through new comic talent in Live At The Electric and there’s an alternative take on the queen theme with God Save The Queens.

Playhouse Presents: Walking the Dogs, Sky Arts 1, 9pmTonight’s TV is fit to burst with a varied assortment of queens.Here, we have Emma Thompson slipping into HRH’s slippers for this gently irreverent short drama, inspired by the real-life 1982 incident when intruder Michael Fagan broke into the royal bed chamber and stayed for a chat.Eddie Marsan, one of the best character actors on British TV, is superb as Fagan, while Russell Tovey pops up as a cheery footman.

Live At The Electric, BBC3, 9.30pmFed up with the same old comedy faces on TV? Well here’s wittily coiffed funny man Russell Kane to guide us through a showcase of rising talent.It’s a mix of stand-up, sketches and the occasional bit of music, with tonight’s highlights including a chance to sample the oddball humour of Joe Wilkinson, best known so far as Russell Tovey’s bonkers upstairs neighbour in Him & Her.

King of the Queens: The legendary Danny La Rue

God Save The Queens, Sky Atlantic, 8pmTaking an alternative spin on the queen theme, we travel back to 1952 for the first in a tongue-in-cheek three-part documentary homage to the men who dared to inject a flamboyant flourish into the stuffy world of black-and-white TV entertainment.

A mixed bag of camp followers, including Julian Clary and Boy George, share their appreciation of trailblazers such as cross-dressing Danny La Rue and piano tickler Liberace.

You may now kiss the brides: Moonies are famed for their mass weddings

Married To The Moonies, C4, 9pmThe Moonies have slipped out of the spotlight of late but this documentary reminds us how very odd they are.

The practice of mass weddings in Korea is the focus and we follow three of the Unification Church’s British followers – Elisa, Reamonn and Naomi – as they prepare to tie the knot with people they meet only just before the ceremony.It can’t help but look bizarre to outsiders but there’s no doubting the devotion inspired by Moonie founder Reverend Sun Myung Moon.The Meat Market, Inside Smithfield, BBC2, 9.30pmBeware the carcasses as cameras lead us deep into the innards of life in London’s Smithfield meat market. Fergus O’Brien’s film takes a look at the men behind the aprons.

Film choice: The Queen, ITV3, 8pmGet your diamond jubilee on early with this amusing 2006 portrait of Her Majesty.Dame Helen Mirren stars to Oscar-winning effect as the Queen, who, by sticking to royal protocol, finds herself out of step with her subjects and at loggerheads with her new prime minister (Michael Sheen) upon the death of Princess Diana.Witty, intelligent and, at times, immensely moving, it somehow manages to appeal to both republicans and monarchists alike.